Cambrian fossil pushes back evolution of complex brains - Atheist Nexus2016-12-09T16:03:04Zhttp://atheistnexus.org/forum/topics/cambrian-fossil-pushes-back-evolution-of-complex-brains?groupUrl=originsuniverselifehumankindanddarwin&commentId=2182797%3AComment%3A2094295&x=1&feed=yes&xn_auth=noSean, the brain is an amazing…tag:atheistnexus.org,2012-12-09:2182797:Comment:21192712012-12-09T20:11:46.344ZJoan Denoohttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/JoanDenoo
<p>Sean, the brain is an amazing organ. During my training, I had to learn how to teach and the way we learned was to teach different animals with brains how to do something we wanted them to learn. I taught rats, pigeons, dogs, fish and octopus how to do something. That is the function of the brain is to change behaviors by learning different ones. We would know we were successful if the organism changed its normal behavior. For example, we changed access to food by teaching the organism to…</p>
<p>Sean, the brain is an amazing organ. During my training, I had to learn how to teach and the way we learned was to teach different animals with brains how to do something we wanted them to learn. I taught rats, pigeons, dogs, fish and octopus how to do something. That is the function of the brain is to change behaviors by learning different ones. We would know we were successful if the organism changed its normal behavior. For example, we changed access to food by teaching the organism to push a lever. Learning means change in behavior. We teach our children how to behave at home and in public, teachers teach children how to read and write and a lot of other things. These are things that do not come naturally to even human children. We "socialize" them. Unless there is a brain dysfunction, we train our children how to whine, misbehave at restaurants and grocery stores. With a little coaching, a parent can learn how to teach their children socially appropriate behaviors. Children have many influences on them and they learn from peers, videos and a lot of other ways. It is not only parents, but as to healthy discipline, parents and teachers have a great influence on what they learn and retain. </p> He wont trip, I'm sure he'll…tag:atheistnexus.org,2012-11-14:2182797:Comment:21010572012-11-14T15:19:20.432ZSamuel Muriithihttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/copernicus
<p>He wont trip, I'm sure he'll tell us exactly how the devil planted those fossils.</p>
<p>He wont trip, I'm sure he'll tell us exactly how the devil planted those fossils.</p> I don't think anyone is sugge…tag:atheistnexus.org,2012-11-05:2182797:Comment:20942952012-11-05T19:46:15.383ZSean Murphyhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/SeanMurphy
<p>I don't think anyone is suggesting that this arthropod is the ancestor of modern complex-brained animals - but the fact that this fossil shows evidence of a brain much larger and more complex than was previously believed to exist that far back suggests that large complex brains first showed up even earlier, and maybe when vertebrates and invertebrates split they were already "brainier" than we ever imagined.</p>
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<p>Or alternately, perhaps large complex brains evolved multiple times…</p>
<p>I don't think anyone is suggesting that this arthropod is the ancestor of modern complex-brained animals - but the fact that this fossil shows evidence of a brain much larger and more complex than was previously believed to exist that far back suggests that large complex brains first showed up even earlier, and maybe when vertebrates and invertebrates split they were already "brainier" than we ever imagined.</p>
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<p>Or alternately, perhaps large complex brains evolved multiple times independently. That would imply that there may have been other ancient species with large brains that we have not found fossils of yet, maybe many intelligent lineages we know nothing about.</p>
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<p>Either way, we have just learned that the world is different than we thought, weirder than we thought, and that is always a cool thing. That is our big advantage over the religious - finding out that what we believed was wrong is icing on the cake for us, while it is spoilage for them, mildew on the cake instead. What disturbs and depresses them excites us.</p> The Cambrian is definitely on…tag:atheistnexus.org,2012-11-05:2182797:Comment:20943632012-11-05T18:37:41.643ZPaul Hoogendykhttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/PaulHoogendyk
<p>The Cambrian is definitely one of my favorite periods in the Paleozoic. Marine life must have been fascinating then. Trilobites and the earliest arthropods.</p>
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<p>The Cambrian is definitely one of my favorite periods in the Paleozoic. Marine life must have been fascinating then. Trilobites and the earliest arthropods.</p>
<p></p> That was my reaction, as well…tag:atheistnexus.org,2012-10-13:2182797:Comment:20729902012-10-13T04:56:48.106ZJoan Denoohttp://atheistnexus.org/profile/JoanDenoo
<p>That was my reaction, as well. We found evolutionary processes of trilobites from Cambrian, Devonian and up to Cretaceous in Central Texas.</p>
<p>My favorite of all was ammonites ... and Devil's toenails ... and ...</p>
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<p>That was my reaction, as well. We found evolutionary processes of trilobites from Cambrian, Devonian and up to Cretaceous in Central Texas.</p>
<p>My favorite of all was ammonites ... and Devil's toenails ... and ...</p>
<p> </p> This picture shows a nearly i…tag:atheistnexus.org,2012-10-13:2182797:Comment:20732462012-10-13T00:36:25.162ZSteph S.http://atheistnexus.org/profile/StephS
<p>This picture shows a nearly intact fossil of Fuxianhuia protensa. The inset shows the fossilized brain in the head of another specimen. (from the article)</p>
<p>This picture shows a nearly intact fossil of Fuxianhuia protensa. The inset shows the fossilized brain in the head of another specimen. (from the article)</p>